To Find Oneself
by SlayrGrl
Summary: During Damage Buffy goes to L.A. with Andrew insearch, there she sees that Spike is alive, Spike tries to find himself and decide if he should return to England with Buffy while a mystery involving a crystal surrounds Angel. FINISHED AND RECENTLY REVISED.
1. Slayers

**Title: **"To Find Oneself"

**Timeline: **Post A5. Just before they get back to the office and see Andrew.

**Summary:** What if during episode "Damage" Buffy went with Andrew to find Dana.

**Disclaimer: **All characters belong to the creator and writers of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' no copyright infringement intended. This story was created for entertainment purposes only.

**Rating: **PG

**Parings:** B/S

* * *

**Slayers**

-Wolfram and Hart-

The elevator door rings and opens in the Wolfram and Hart main lobby, people and demons alike are going about their busy schedules hurrying past as Spike and Angel walk out. Now at least they knew what Dana was, a slayer and a crazy one at that, however just what they were going to do with her neither of them knew. Nonetheless they still had to catch her before anything could happen.

"A psychotic vampire slayer," Spike says.

"How many times you gonna keep sayin' that?" Angel replies annoyed.

"Just tryin' to wrap my lobes around it. A psycho slayer"

"And you let her get away."

"At least I was tryin' to stop her."

"Oh… how'd that work out?"

"At least I know the game, now, don't I? I killed 2 slayers with my own hands. Think I can handle one that's gone daft in the melon."

"You're not handling anything, Spike. OK? Wes contacted Rupert Giles. He's sendin' his top guy to retrieve her."

-Conference room-

Spike and Angel walk into the conference room where Gunn, Wesley, Fred, and Lorne are waiting sitting around the conference table, the room has a soft glow to it as it was lit but the office lamps and harsh daylight was hidden by the cover of night. There is a chair in the room where someone appears to be sitting however you can't tell who it is by the way the chair is facing. Then as they enter the room and everyone turns to face Spike and Angel the chair turns and leaves both of the souled vampires speechless. There she sat one of, if not the most powerful Slayer of all time, her eyes widen at the sight of the vampires before her, she had been expecting to see Angel, but never Spike. Spike had died there was no reason for her to think that he would be here, was he here? Buffy wasn't even sure that the person before her was real. Silence fills the room as Buffy and Spike glare at each other intensely.

"Buffy," Spike says hesitantly.

"…Spike?" Buffy responds with doubt drenched in her voice.

The rest of the room is silent watching attentively the slayer and vampire before them wondering what they are about to do. Even Angel who wasn't particularly happy with the attention that Spike was getting from Buffy was soundless; everyone seemed to understand how emotional this moment was for both of them. Buffy slowly stood up from her chair and in a few slow steps she was standing before him. Spike looked down at her as if he was seeing her for the first time; he watched as the soft light made shadows dance across her face, she looks at him with awe. Tentatively he places an arm on Buffy's shoulder and she instantly falls into his embrace. He holds her close, her essence surrounds him, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her skin; it's so real that Spike wonders if it might be a dream.

"I've missed you so much…God Buffy, I…"

Buffy pulls back slightly so that she can look up at Spike, her eyes are slightly glossy but no tears.

"I know…I…"

"Oh, my God!" A voice says from behind the pair.

Both Buffy and Spike turn to see Andrew in the doorway with a look of astonishment on his face, his hair is slightly longer and is looking slightly more sophisticated then Spike last saw, however he still had the overall appearance of a nerd. Buffy and Spike break apart just as Andrew rushes forward to hug Spike, a hug which is not returned, Buffy backs up slightly to give the two of them more room and is now standing next to Angel, a smirk across both of their faces and a pleading look on Spike's.

"Spike...It's you. It's really you…My therapist thought I was holding onto false hope, but... I knew you'd come back. You're like... you're like Gandalf the White, resurrected from the pit of the Balrog…more beautiful than ever…Ohh... he's alive, Frodo. He's alive," Andrew says with all the enthusiasm he can muster.

"You two know each other?" Angel asks.

Angel just stands with a proud smirk on his face while Spike stands uncomfortably and glares back at him with daggers. Buffy's still watching with awe in her eyes and is chuckling slightly at the sight before her. Andrew then backs away from Spike straightening his jacket and attempts to look professional.

"Uh, yeah. Um... We-we saved the world together…" Andrew says.

"Hey!" Buffy says offended.

"I mean, Buffy helped, but... it was mostly us…Uh, so what happened? Last I heard, you went all pillar of fire down in the hellmouth."

Buffy rolls her eyes while Angel starts to get annoyed by Andrew. It's then that the mood is broken and everyone realizes that they have to get back on track. There will be time to answer questions later.

"Could we save memory lane till after we contain this psychotic super powered killing machine?" Angel says.

"Yes, Buffy was just about to tell us about the dreams that she's been having," Wesley explains.

"You've been having dreams pet?" Spike asks.

"Yeah, slayer dreams…there's this girl…"

"Dana," Angel says finishing Buffy's sentence.

"yea, she's a slayer, but I'm sure that you've figured that much out by now…anyways, she's…she's been tortured, traumatized, and she's gonna really hurt someone if we don't find her soon, she's been having slayer dreams herself, of past slayers, like I did when I was first called but…"

"With her mental instability she's using the things that she sees in her dreams to lash out at people she perceives to be her own aggressors," Wesley says.

"My hypothesis exactly, Pryce. I see Mr. Giles may have been wrong about you," Andrew says acting as watcher-ly as he can.

"Explains why that skirt was yappin'' at me in Chinese. Must've thought she was the slayer I took out back in the Boxer Rebellion," Spike says.

"You mean the slayer you murdered," Angel corrects.

"Well, I didn't have a soul back then, did I?"

"Right, 'cause having one now is making such a difference."

"Enough! Arguing isn't going to help us here," Buffy interjects.

"Right," Spike says.

"Sorry," Angel says.

Buffy takes a deep breath and looks at the two vampires before her, she wonders if they would ever get along and figures that they probably would always be at each others throats, too much history. History, something that she had with the both of them in mass quantity and now it's almost humorous to watch them bicker, however they had more important things to do, when they were done though she would have to have a long talk with the both of them to catch up on missed time, especially Spike. She had far too many questions to even think about asking them at the moment and simply decided to proceed with plan A: find the crazy slayer.

"Ok, first things first, we have to find this girl and restrain her and then we'll go from there."

"Alright then, anyone needs me I'll be out doing hair gel boy's job," Spike replies.

"Spike, you're the last person who should be going…she's a slayer she has every reason to hate us, especially you, you have killed two slayers before and I'm betting that she knows that," Angel says.

"What do you want me to do? Go all boo-hoo 'cause she got tortured and driven out of her gourd? Not like we haven't done worse back in the day."

"Yeah and it's something I'm still paying for."

"And you should let it go, mate. It's startin' to make you look old."

"Spike, I'm serious."

"So what do you suggest, just stay here, do nothing…let Buffy and Andrew handle it all, I don't bloody think so."

"Spike…"

"Hey, what did I say about arguing! If you two are going to continue this at least loose the shirts and let me get some body oil, cause other wise it's just not worth my time," Buffy says successfully interrupting their argument.

Her words had not only caught their attention but also the rest of the room. Spike's infamous smirk crossed his face and Buffy can't help but smile, Angel however at this point looks annoyed.

"Seeing as the two of you are unable to come up with a plan this is how it's gonna go…Spike, Angel and I will split up taking different sides of town around where you last saw her, if someone finds her call the other two and we all take her down."

"Hey! What do I do? I can help!" Andrew says.

"So…go with Spike."

"Hey, why do I get stuck with em'," Spike says annoyed and partly hurt that Buffy wasn't going with him to search for Dana.

"Because I've been stuck with him since the hellmouth closed and he knows you…besides the both of you tend to get into trouble, you'll be able to keep an eye on each other."

"Good plan, Spike and I work well together, like the time we were sent by Giles on a secret mission to…"

"Come-on Andrew…we get the west side," Spike says cutting off Andrew's sentence.

With a final nod to Buffy Spike walks out of the conference room with Andrew tailing behind. Buffy watches him go, it's a simple action she had seen from him many times before, nothing significant about it, just walking away; but the fact that he was here to walk away was overwhelming, she still couldn't believe that he was back. Not that she knew what they were going to do now that they could be together, if they would, if he had moved on, she didn't even know if what they had before was still entirely there… it's not like he had called her to tell her that he was alive…Buffy couldn't think about what had just happened anymore, she just needed to concentrate on what she needed to do, she would have time to talk with Spike later.


	2. The Fight

**The Fight**

-By the Docks-

Spike and Andrew are walking side by side down an ally by the docks, Spike seems to be putting all his effort into trying to sense where the crazy slayer is and ignore Andrew. It's dark and slightly eerie as they walk, the only sign of light comes from the scattered street lamps many of which are broken and those that aren't only cast a dull light.

"What are you doing out here, Andrew? Why'd you wanna come with so bad?

"This is where the action is, bro. On the mean streets… Can you dig it?"

"Go back to Wolfram & Hart. Don't have time for games."

"That's good, 'cause Andy ain't playin'. You're not the only one who's changed. Mr. Giles has been training me. I'm faster, stronger, and 82 percent more manly than the last time we…"

Andrew's sentence is cut short as he trips over something and falls to the ground. Andrew looks over at the object that caused his fall and screams like a girl as he realizes that it's a person, a dead person. The man's throat is slashed and there's blood everywhere. Spike immediately turns to Andrew and sees what caused him to scream.

"Well I guess that means that we're close."

Andrew is now standing next to Spike looking down at the body that he previously tripped over. Spike sniffs the air around him.

"Should we call the others?"

"No, this was recent but not recent enough that she might not have gotten that far away."

"You can tell that by smelling it?"

"Uh, yea."

"What's it smell like? The blood I mean."

"Uh, metallic sorta… you ever taste a penny?"

"No, wait… no."

"Smells like that."

Andrew sees a penny on the ground and picks it up as they continue walking.

"So… you and Buffy, are you guys like gonna get back together now or somethin'?"

"And just what gives you that impression?"

"Oh, come on I saw how the two of you were with each other when I walked in the conference room… staring deep into each others eyes with longing and desire, it's so romantic you know she was the vampyr slayer and he was a vampyr who was the slayer of slayers…"

"Andrew now would be a good time for you to shut your yap."

"I was just saying…"

Spike stops dead in his tracks causing Andrew to stop as well.

"What's wrong?" Andrew asks.

"Blood, smells different… stronger."

"Like nickels?"

Spike doesn't respond instead he takes off running around a corner following the scent of the blood, Andrew follows after trying to keep up, and then they both stop.

"Dead end," Andrew says stating the obvious.

"It's her blood."

Suddenly Dana appears seemingly out of nowhere and makes her first move by knocking Andrew out, Spike instantly jumps in to fight her. The dance begins with his sixth slayer to truly fight with; this one didn't have the moves like his first slayer that he killed in china, nor the preciseness that Kendra had, but she sure had the attitude and anger that he had known from Buffy, Faith and even Nikki. He knocks her into a 55-gallon drum that sits in the ally, but she gets right back up again and they continue to fight. Andrew starts to wake up and soon realizes what's happening around him, then as Spike is knocked to the ground Andrew pulls out a tranquilizer gun and shoots at Dana who dodges out of the way and then kicks Andrew in the head as he's trying to reload. As Dana runs out of the ally Spike charges after her. He chases her without truly paying attention to where he's going. She gets ahead of him and out of sight, after a moment to find her scent Spike descends an old flight of stairs into a basement; they creak as he walks but he continues to move into the darkness. As he reaches the bottom sees Dana again.

"All right, pet. No getting away. Got your scent locked in now… could track you for miles."

"No escaping."

"That's right. No escaping. Now, all the same... don't wanna have to hurt you."

"Doesn't hurt if you hold still."

"Uh…right."

"Heart...and head. Have to get home… doesn't hurt if you hold still."

Spike lets out a slight chuckle trying to calm his fear.

"You're a real sack of hammers, aren't you? Hey...don't worry. I used to date a girl who wasn't all there."

"Heart...and head. Stab the heart, cut off the head… only way to be sure."

"That's slayer talk, isn't it?"

"Keep cutting till you see dust."

"Right. Let me explain. You got visions… right? Vampire slayer memories kickin' around in your head, which is tough... 'cause it sounds like you're past midnight on the crazy clock anyway."

"Please don't. I have to get home to my son... to my Robin."

"Robin? Oh. Hey, you're talking about Nikki, the slayer I offed back in… Uh, yeah you probably don't want to think about that, pet."

"William the Bloody."

"No. No. No. That's not gonna lead anywhere good. You want to focus on what's real."

"Head and heart. Don't be scared."

"Now we're gonna…"

Before Spike has the chance to finish what he was going to say Dana kicks him hard knocking him to the ground. Dirt flies up around him as his body makes impact on the floor and before he knows it he's being drugged as Dana plunges a needle into his neck. As Spike continues to try and fight the world starts to fade away and then everything goes black.

-The Ally-

Andrew starts to wake up again, this time he realizes that he's alone in the ally. He stumbles slightly as he stands up. He looks around and realizes that he is truly alone, he pulls out his cell phone and makes two phone calls.

"…Buffy, yea…we found her, Spike was fighting with her… yea… but then I was knocked out… Buffy let me finish this is important, they're both gone, I woke up and no one was here… I'm in an ally by the docks… no I don't know which way he went… please hurry, I just have a bad feeling about this… ok… ok bye."

Andrew then dials his second call to Angel.

-The Basement-

The world starts to rush back to Spike, but he's defiantly still disoriented; everything around him seems slightly blurry, he looks around at his environment and sees Dana, as he talks to her his speech is slightly slurred.

"Piece by piece"

"What'd you do…?"

"Shh… stay quiet, I'll let you go."

"You're homicidal. What did you do... to me?"

"Losing all your pieces. Not weak… can't touch me anymore."

Spike looks away from Dana who's holding a bone saw covered in blood and lifts his arms to see that his hands have been cut off at mid forearm. It's an unnatural thing to see, and seems surreal to Spike. In his hazy way of thinking he doesn't know quite what to say.

-By the Dock-

Buffy is running she can tell that something's wrong, she can feel it. All she knows is that she has to find Spike, and she has to find him right away. She honestly didn't know exactly how she was going to find him just that she had to. There's someone off in the distance, she can't quite tell who it is but keeps running in his direction, as she gets closer she realizes that it's Angel and slows down as she reaches him.

"Buffy," he calls out as she nears.

"We have to find him… something's wrong."

"I know, I got Andrew's call, but Buffy how are we going to find him… we have no idea of even what direction to go in."

"We just… we have to keep looking until we find him…I…I just got him back, I can't loose him again."

Angel sees determination and fear in her eyes, and knows that he has to do whatever he can to help her, he knows that there is a good possibility that Dana has already killed Spike, but he would help her look anyway, and he figures that if they did find her that they will defiantly need backup.

"Where should we start looking?"

Buffy takes a minuet to look around and feel out her surroundings, using her slayer senses to try and feel out where Spike had last been, a breeze blows past her and she can feel the hurt and pain resonating from everywhere around her, she can tell that the docks are a place where many crimes had gone on unnoticed and many people have been tortured. Then she feels it…a slight tingle pulling her in a certain direction and she turns to Angel with resolve.

"This way," she says with determination in her voice.


	3. Rescue

**Rescue**

-The Basement-

Spike is still chained up and armless in the basement bleeding from his sawed off appendages, he finally realizes the severity of his situation and begins to really understand that his limbs are missing. He has no way to defend himself from an insane slayer and finds himself growing weak from blood loss.

"Oh, God…can't feel…m-my…"

Dana hits Spike hard across the face.

"No! No more daddy… no more mommy… no more hands… can't touch me ever again."

"I never touched you."

"Shh."

"Stop. Stop. You got it wrong. Your brain's all jumbled. I never hurt you. It wasn't me. I've done my share of bad, but you're not one of 'em. It's someone else... You've got me confused with someone else."

Dana looks like she's remembering something and twitches slightly.

"Visions...are mixing... with your real memories... all right? Got 'em stuffed in your head… other slayers, other places… New York... China..."

Dana starts to speak in Chinese, which slightly frightens Spike but he doesn't let it show.

"Yeah. That's what you're remembering…other slayers."

"You killed her."

"Yes…but…"

"You killed them both."

"That and worse. But I was never here."

"Doesn't matter! Head and heart… keep cutting till you see dust."

Dana hits Spike again and then takes the bone saw and hovers over him planning on continuing her work. Before she can cut him again however she is thrown across the room by someone. Spike looks up to see Angel, and Buffy standing behind him, Buffy's eyes are filled with relief and then sadness as she sees what has been done to him. Quickly she rushes over to him as Angel tries to reason with Dana. When the reasoning doesn't work Angel and Dana start to fight. Eventually he grabs her from behind and holds her still.

"Now," Angel calls out.

Wesley steps out then and shoots Dana three times with a tranquilizer gun; she falls soundlessly to the ground. Wesley moves to Angel's side just as the guards start to move in to take Dana away. Angel then notices Spike's arms lying on a workbench, he looks over at the bleached vamp who now has been unchained and is currently resting his head on Buffy.

"Get the med team in here now!" Angel calls out.

-The Dock-

Fred is talking to someone on her cell phone as the med team wheels Spike off into an ambulance with Buffy right beside him. The ambulance lights are flashing and relief fills everyone around, the presence of Buffy and Fred makes Spike feel safe.

"Get it prepped. Put surgical on standby… We'll be there in 10 minutes. Oh, for God's sake! Tell the shaman no cadavers…We've got his hands," Fred yells into her phone.

Then Fred gets into the ambulance after Spike and Buffy and the three of them drive off. Angel, Wesley and a group of armed guards escort Dana who is currently passed out on a gurney, and then they're stopped as Andrew steps out from the shadows.

-Ambulance-

The ambulance rolls down the street towards Wolfram and Hart, the fast movement causes the vehicle to sway making those inside wobble back and forth slightly. Buffy sits right by Spike's side as he lies on a gurney in the middle of the ambulance; Fred is off to the side watching the interactions between the two of them. Spike notices the intense look of concern on Buffy's face and tries to comfort her with a reassuring smile.

"It's alright pet, 'm gonna be fine."

"Spike, she chopped off your arms…how do we even know that they can…can the surgeons or whatever even…"

"Oh, don't worry the medical staff at Wolfram and Hart is quite good…they'll be able to re-attach his arms no problem, just as long as they use _his_ actual arms, this one time they re-attached this guys hand, well it wasn't his hand it was the hand of a serial murderer and…well lets just say that it's a long story and I'll stop babbling right now," Fred says.

"Don't fret bout' it Fred, you entertaining to listen to."

Fred just smiles back, a notion that Buffy doesn't miss. She can tell that Spike likes this girl, exactly how much she doesn't know but she figures that it's a good thing that he has someone here in LA that he…likes, as a _friend_. Buffy's thoughts are disrupted as the ambulance goes over a bump in the road causing Spike to flinch slightly from the pain caused by the sudden movement.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asks.

"Buffy, luv, don't fuss yourself bout me 'm fine…right as rain really."

Buffy just gives him a look that tells him that she knows that he's in more pain then he's saying.

"Come on now, really 'm fine… sides, it's not as bad as that time you had to hall my sorry arse back down into the initiative caves so the government could remove that bloody mind zapping chip from my head now is it."

"That wasn't that bad…well you know, except for the whole part where you were dieing."

"Yea, what was I thinking, that was just a walk in the park compared to the stuff were used to."

That brings a grin to Buffy's face; he always knew how to make her feel better. She realizes it then just exactly how much she's missed him; these past months she'd been trying to convince herself that he had been right when they were down in the Hellmouth, that she hadn't ever loved him, but now there was no doubt in her mind that she does. She's staring straight into his eyes now and she finally understands that this is their second chance, they have time now to make up for all the time they've missed out on. She brushes her fingers through his hair and then hears the ambulance start to slow, finally it comes to a complete stop and she hears people getting out, she glances at him one final time just before the back doors fly open and they pulled him from the ambulance.

-Waiting Room-

Buffy sits in one of the waiting room chairs, the room is bright as most of the science department in Wolfram and Hart are. Spike's still in the operating room and Buffy's getting anxious. She was…nervous, she needed to talk to him, there were so many things that she had to say, and she needed to know how he felt. Did he still love her; somewhere in her heart she knew that at least a part of her was still in love with him, he'd always be in her heart.

Buffy hears doors open from the side of her and turns to see Angel walk in; he has a slightly sour look on his face which fades somewhat when he sees her. Buffy knows that she's partially responsible for his not so perfect mood, which she feels bad about but there isn't much else she could do. Andrew, with the help of the slayers in training, had taken Dana and Angel was obviously upset that Buffy would come to his town and interfere with _his_ business; the truth of it was though that Dana was _her_ business, all the slayers were _her_ business and Angel would just have to deal with that. She stands as he walks closer and soon they are standing face to face.

"So...I take it that Andrew intervened, you have that betrayed look."

"I don't feel betrayed; I just wish that you would've told me from the start that the reason you were here was to take her…"

"Angel, Dana is a slayer, she's the council's responsibility, she's _my_ responsibility, not yours; and you know that."

"Yea…so, why are you still here then? Are you staying for Spike?"

His question caught her off guard, but then again he did always pry a little too much into her personal life. Buffy thinks for a moment how to answer his question, she felt her response needed to be said with some care, after all Angel would always be special to her.

"I fly back is tomorrow…the plan was that Andrew take Dana back to the council as soon as possible so they could start treatment, and then I was going to stay here and report back tomorrow on just how evil this place is…but yea, I am here because of Spike… what are you doing here, in the infirmary I mean."

"Same as you I'm guessing…I wanted to talk to Spike, is he still in the operating room?"

"Yea, but the doctor was out here a little while ago…he said that they were almost done and that they would be moving him into recovery soon, so they should be about done by now."

"Good."

An uncomfortable silence fills the space between Buffy and Angel; neither really knew what to say to each other. There were just too many things between them now, they each had their own lives and somewhere in the process of obtaining their own lives they had drifted apart. Before the silence became too deafening the doctor walks out with a clipboard in his hand and both Buffy and Angel turned to greet him with eager eyes.

"Mrs. Summers, I see your still here…well it appears that the surgery was a complete success, he may not be able to move his hands for a short while but his feeling should return to him within a day or so," the doctor reports.

"Can I see him now?" Buffy asks.

"I don't see why not, he might still be somewhat sleepy but the drugs should be wearing off."

"Thanks."

Buffy takes a step forward to follow the doctor who was about to lead her to Spike's room when Angel steps forward and grabs her arm. Buffy stops and turns to face him.

"Buffy, wait," Angel says.

"What, Angel. You can't keep me from seeing him."

"Buffy that's not… You can make your own decisions; I just thought maybe I could talk to him first, It's just that I have a meeting in 15 minuets and…"

"Oh, no, no that's fine… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of running my life, I just… this is all kinda unexpected for me."

"Its fine, I understand why… do you mind if I go in first?"

"No, that's fine; I can wait a little longer."

Angel smiles at her slightly then follows the doctor to Spike's room. Buffy simply watches as he disappears around the corner wondering when things had gotten so distant between them.


	4. Victims

**Victims**

-Spike's Hospital Room-

Angel walks through the doorway to see Spike with his arms bandaged. He's sitting on a bed wearing a white hospital gown, the look on Spike's face is somewhat sad and full of contemplation. If Angel didn't know better he might have mistaken Spike to be brooding, but then there was that classic smart ass comment that Spike always had to say which either proved that he had no concerns about the wrongs he had done or was just truly good at covering up his true feelings.

"Come to tap-dance on the patient, have we, doc? I'd give you the finger, but apparently I won't have the motor skills till the drugs wear off," Spike says.

"A lot of pain?"

"More than I'd like… But not as much as you would… Just what I deserve"

And then there were moments that Angel realized that there was more to Spike then his quirky comebacks and smart ass comments. He really did have a soul, and he did feel remorse for the things that he had done, and if anything he did realize that he deserved punishment.

"I didn't say that."

"No. I did. The lass thought I killed her family. And I'm supposed to what, complain 'cause hers wasn't one of the hundreds of families I did kill? I'm not sayin' you're right... 'cause, uh... I'm physically incapable of saying that… But, uh... for a demon... I never did think that much about the nature of evil. No. Just threw myself in. Thought it was a party. I liked the rush. I liked the crunch. Never did look back at the victims."

"I couldn't take my eyes off them. I was only in it for the evil. It was everything to me. It was art. The destruction of a human being. I would've considered Dana a masterpiece."

"What happens to her?"

"I don't know… Um, Andrew and the slayers took her… Didn't trust us to help her"

"Andrew double-crossed us? That's a good move… Hope for the little ponce yet. Though the tingling in my forearms tells me she's too far gone to help. She's...one of us now. She's a monster."

"She's an innocent victim."

"So were we... once upon a time."

"Once upon a time."

The room fell silent as the two of them reflect. It was hard thing for both of them to believe that with all the horrible things that they had done that once upon a time they had been just as innocent and those that they had victimized. They each think back to the days when they had been nothing more then human, mortal, and then it had all been taken away in an instant to become what they are now.

"So, I'm assuming that since we've lost everyone's trust and Andrew swindled us out of our slayer that…that Buffy's gone too," Spike says with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Actually… I saw her in the waiting room."

"I swear if you're pullin' my chain…"

"I'm not…she has a flight back tomorrow."

Spike takes a minuet to think over just what that means, if it meant anything at all. All he really knows is that she's still there, and whether it was for him or not he guessed that being able to spend any more time with her was a good thing.

"Well… I have to go, there's always work to be done."

"Yea…guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yea."

With that Angel simply turns and leaves. The room again feels quiet and empty to Spike, all he can to do for the moment is think. Forever seems to come and go before the door slowly opens again, and she walks in. She seems almost shy at first when she enters then their eyes meet and a level of comfort is met. Buffy stands before Spike like an angel glowing in all her beauty and strength.

"Hey…" she says softly.

"I see you stayed."

"Yea, but I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Right, gotta' get back to the slayeretts and what not, I understand."

"I was hoping that we could, you know talk… before I leave."

"Sure pet… anything you want."

Buffy walks over to the bed and pulls up a chair so that she can sit next to Spike. It was hard for her to try and say just what she meant, she had never planned on seeing him again and she didn't really know just what she was suppose to do.

"So… how've you been?"

"Fine I guess, I have my own place, there's stuff to do, people to save… it's not home, but it'll do for now."

"Yea… I know how that feels."

"So, this is what you wanted to talk about, how I've been?"

"No, I… Spike, I need you to know that I meant what I said that night in the Hellmouth… I did, I do love you, and I know that you think that I was just…"

"I believed you."

"You did?" Buffy says with surprise. He had believed her, confusion clouds her mind. Then why hadn't he accepted her feelings that night, Buffy wonders to herself.

"I know I said that… I said what I said because I had to do what I did… knowing that you felt, no, not just knowing it, actually hearing you say those words… it was easier for me to leave thinking that we could never be anything, because if I knew that I was giving up a chance to truly be with you I couldn't stand it."

The quietness returns to the room once again, Buffy just stares at Spike after he finishes explaining his feelings and she feels like she might cry. He had believed her, and somehow that admission sent a wave of relief through her. She had spent so many hours wondering just what he had really felt, even questioning her own feelings; and now he was back, and Buffy has no idea of what she was suppose to do.

"I just don't understand… if you believed me then why, when you came back why didn't you tell me…I mean Spike, just how long have you been here?"

"It's…complicated, but then again it always is."

"The story of my life."

"I want you to know… when I first came back all I could think about was finding you."

"so what happened, why didn't you?"

Spike takes a deep unneeded breath trying to contemplate just why he hadn't rushed off to find her. Buffy sits eagerly waiting for his response.

"Honestly I don't rightly know… when I first got here I was like a ghost, couldn't touch or feel anything…I hung around here until about three months ago when, actually I don't really know what happened but here I am all corporal and all…I wanted to go off and find you right then, nearly did, but there was trouble brewing and I was needed…I guess after waiting for the right time to go and find you I just started to feel like it wasn't meant to happen, and then I started to think about how after all this time you must have moved on and… I guess I just figured that it wasn't right for me to walk back into your life... I ended up here because I was stuck inside that amulet that I was wearing that night, someone sent it _here_ and I came out of it… I just can't help but think that there's a reason why I was sent here."

"I wish that you would have told me…I've missed you, things have been hard without you…and then to see you again after all this time here is LA, I…I don't really know what I'm suppose to do now, ya know."

"Yea."

A silence passes over them once more, both are searching for something more to say, and it comes down to Spike trying to pick up the conversation again with small talk.

"So… you're leaving tomorrow then, you're staying some place here in LA for the night then?"

"Yea, I have a hotel room down the block; I thought about staying with my dad while I was here, but…well you know how it is between me and him."

"Yea, I never did like him too much…wasn't right of him to leave you and your sis the way he did, I met him once you know."

"you did?"

"Yea, it was back before Red brought you back…he stopped by, picked Dawn up for the weekend, it was the first time I'd ever seen him put any interest into anything that she's done."

Buffy just smiles, he had really been there for her sister when she had been gone and she appreciated it. No, more then just appreciated, she respected him for it. There had been so many times when he had been there for her, and the people around her. He had messed up so badly in his life but he had always pulled through when she needed him. She could count on him. Buffy reaches her hand out and takes Spike's hand in hers.

"Thank you…for looking after her…for everything."

"…Buffy… Will you… would you just stay here with me tonight, I know I have no right to ask but…"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I will."

Their eyes meet and they simply stare at each other as if they were looking for the answers to all life's questions in each other's eyes. Then Buffy finally breaks her gaze by glancing down as a smile forms on her face. She looks back at him and notices that there's a smile on his face as well, after another second she stands up and moves the chair that she was sitting in back to the corner of the room. Spike just watches her, then as she moves back over to him he moves over a little to give her room on the bed. She climbs in next to him and he clumsily wraps an arm around her as she snuggles up closer to him.

"I've missed this," Buffy says sweetly.

"so have I."

Spike kisses the top of Buffy's head and the two of them fall asleep in each other's arms.


	5. Error

**Error **

- Spike's Hospital Room -

Spike has been awake for nearly an hour now, most of the feeling has returned to his hands and he can move his fingers, currently he's running them through Buffy's hair watching her as she sleeps. She looks so peaceful and Spike can't remember the last time he'd woken up with her wrapped in his arms. They had just slept, like they had the night before the Hellmouth closed, they were there for each other, it was a level of closeness that was hard to find, but they had it in each other. Slowly Buffy stars to stir and as she wakes up she looks up at Spike, it takes her a moment to remember where she is, but quickly it all comes back to her and she smiles.

"Mornin' Sunshine," Spike says.

"Hey…"

"Sleep well?"

"Yea… hospital beds slightly more comfortable these days."

"So slayer, just when are you leaving at today."

"Later tonight, I think my flight's at like nine… I wish I could stay, but I'm needed back home."

"No, you should go…you have to go."

"You could always come…"

"No, I couldn't… I don't belong there, and I'm needed here… As much as I'm in love with you Summers, we both have our own lives now, and I think it'd be unfair of me not to let you move on."

A look of disappointment crosses Buffy's face, she still cares for Spike still loves him, but maybe he was right. It had been a long time since he had been apart of her life and she wouldn't even know where he would fit in if he came back with her. They aren't together; they hadn't been for a long time.

"You're right… and it'd be unfair to you, you obviously have made a life for yourself here, I shouldn't expect you to just pick yourself up and move because of me…but maybe you could visit sometime, come see me and Dawn?"

"It's a sure thing pet…and who knows maybe I'll decide to stay when this is all over, it's just that right now there's some stuff a brewin' and I'm gonna be needed in this fight."

Buffy then starts to get out of bed, as she's talking she straightens her clothes out and puts her hair up in a pony tail with a rubber band that she's had around her wrist. Spike just watches her silently.

"I understand…you know what, I should go, I have to change, and shower, and call home…I'll meet you back at the office in a little while ok?"

"Uh, yea…yea, I'll see you then."

"Ok."

Buffy gives him one last smile then turns and exits the room.

-Angel's Office-

Spike walks into Angel's office; he's now dressed and wearing his leather duster. Angel is sitting behind his desk and doesn't even bother to look up at Spike as he walks in the room. Spike sits down on one the large chairs that face Angel's desk. He's quiet for some time before Angel finally looks up from his paperwork to acknowledge him. Spike seems to be deep in thought and doesn't even notice that Angel is now looking at him. Angel can smell Buffy's sent all over Spike and a pain of jealously hits him, but then is quickly diminished after realizing that Spike is worried about something.

"Something on your mind, not that I care," Angel asks.

"huh, oh…actually yea…Uh, well Buffy and I were talking and she asked me to go back with her, but I said that I shouldn't…We talked about it for a little while and just decided that we both need to move on…but…"

"But you want to go back with her."

"Yea…but I'm making the right choice right? I mean, it'd never work, we'd just get hurt in the end."

"As much as I'd love to get rid of you Spike, I think your right to stay…let her move on with her life."

"Right…right then."

The room falls silent again and Spike continues to contemplate if letting Buffy go was the right decision. Angel thinks about if what he had told Spike was the right advice. Then both of their thoughts are interrupted as the door to Angel's office opens again and Wes, Fred and Gunn walk in.

"Angel, we've got a big problem," Gunn states mater of factly.

"What's wrong?" Angel asks.

All attention is on Wes, Gunn and Fred, as Angel becomes concerned and stands up. Spike however just turns his head and doesn't bother to move out of the chair that he's sitting in.

"There's this new artifact that we're running tests on in my department that we got from…" Fred begins to say.

"A clan of Fongoleuin demons, well as it turns out they're trying to back out of their contract with us," Gunn says finishing her sentence.

"A very lethal group of demons let me add," Wes adds in.

"What are they doing?" Angel asks.

"They say that if we don't give them their artifact back that their going to… well lets just sat that it's not good," Fred says.

"They're serious too, and these demons, they can cause a lot of damage if they set their mind to it…so I arranged a meeting with their leader in twenty minuets, they want to talk with you," Gunn says.

"We thought we should be present at said meeting, also we figured we should tell you something about what this artifact is and what it does and all that."

"yea, that could be useful," Angel says.

Wes, Fred and Gunn walk over to Angel's desk, Angel sits down and Gunn pulls out a file folder that he had with him on the artifact that he was talking about, they start to discuss with Angel what its purpose is and how it works when Buffy walks in the room, Spike is the first to notice her seeing as he wasn't paying as much attention to Gunn and Fred anyway and he smiles at her as she walks in.

"Hey," Buffy says causing everyone in the room to look in her direction at the sound of her voice. She takes a few steps into the room hesitantly and looks around at the office space, taking in the big windows and bright light that fills the room. It was to say the least an odd sight to see Spike standing in the light."So, you open the blinds and let the sun shine in often?"

"Special glass," Spike explains.

"Oh."

"Buffy, hi," Angel says.

"Hey… and don't worry, I won't nose around too much, I know you have work to do."

"Quite the contrary Miss Summers, you're always welcome," Wes says with a smile.

Buffy just smiles back and after a few seconds walks over towards Spike and sits in the seat next to him, Spike watches her every step of the way. Wes and Fred go back to explaining to Angel about the meeting that they would be having soon and the four of them get lost in their talk of Wolfram and Hart business.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Buffy asks turning to Spike.

"Some demon meeting."

"Fun."

"Not really."

"So what's this meeting about?"

Fred and Wes look up from the papers that they brought in to describe the artifact to Angel to look over at Buffy. Angel also looks up, but it's Wes who answers her.

"We're negotiating with a group of demons over an artifact they had given us in return for protection, a rival demon society, this society has since been eliminated and well…"

"Now they want their artifact back, gotcha… so just what is this artifact that's got them all riled up?"

"Oh, it's a D'kaykmsuhve crystal, they're very rare, and actually just what their purpose is… is unknown, but we do know that they have a lot of power, there are all sorts of experiments that I've been planning on doing on it and then there are all of the mystical uses, Oh and… and I'll let Wes explain to you more about the demons," Fred says.

Fed looks slightly flustered after her recent babble, and looks back down at her papers, Wes however smiles obviously thinking that she was cute.

"Well, there isn't much else to say besides that they should be arriving for a meeting in a short while," Wes says just as Harmony bursts through the door without knocking, everyone looks in her direction, their heads locked on her as the door hits the wall with a loud thump.

"Boss, we've got trouble, there's all whole bunch of really ugly guys here and they don't look too friendly," Harmony says.

"It's ok Harmony their here for a meeting."

"They don't look like they wanna chat things out, more like smash us all into tiny pieces… Buffy, what are you doing here, don't think that you can just walk back in here and take my Spikey Awa…"

Harmony sentence is then cut off as she's pushed out of the way by three huge demons with dark scaly skin and long claws dangling from their fingers. They push their way into the room. Harmony regains her balance and dusts her self off then looks up at the intruding demons with a scowl on her face. No one is left sitting in the room having stood when the demons entered.

"That was rude," Harm spits out.

"We have come for our crystal," the demon explains.

"Well fine, but you could at least be nice about it."

"Harmony!" Angel says in a warning tone.

Harmony: "What!"

Angel just gives Harmony an icy glare that she returns with a shrug. The demons turn their attention to Angel and take an advancing step. Spike and Buffy have stepped up closer while Wes and Fred look ready to fight however hover towards the back of the group. It looks as if a fight is the only way out of this situation; reasoning was something that these demons looked incapable of doing.


	6. Dawn

**Dawn**

-Angel's Office-

Three large, scaly and scary demons stand in the entrance to Angel's office, Buffy, Spike and Angel stand up prepared for a fight, as do Wes and Fred, while Harmony just stands off to the side annoyed at the entire situation.

"Where is our crystal?" The leader of the demons asks in a low coarse voice.

"You're not getting it back," Angel replies.

"We will kill you for it."

"Right… now, let's think about this big guy…you're in _Wolfram and Hart_, you really think that you'll be able to best the likes of us _here_?" Spike interjects.

"It is our mission to retrieve what is ours, you cannot stop us."

"Yea, sure."

"The crystal was yours for protection in return; we no longer need your protection, so now we must take back our crystal."

"Sorry, but it's not gonna go that way," Angel says charging the first large demon fighting it for a while; soon Buffy and Spike join in fighting the other two demons.

Punches and kicks are thrown and landed by all three of them. Buffy manages to kill one of the demons with a knife from the display case behind Angel's desk, at that same time Angel is thrown across the room hitting his desk and knocking all of the papers off of it. Buffy and Spike are fighting completely in sync with each other as they take out the remaining two demons. Angel then gets up from his position on the floor about to charge back into the fight when he realizes that Buffy and Spike seem to have the situation under control, the two of them move and fight as if they knew what the other was planning on doing, dodging punches and kicks just as the other takes over, they go back and forth for a short while until Buffy Kills one of the remaining two demons and then Spike finishes off the last one. All three stand still for a moment taking a minuet to think over their recent fight.

"Well that was a rush," Spike says.

"Yea… it's been a while since I've had a real fight like that; I've been… taking a bit of a break lately," Buffy replies.

"That's too bad Summers cause there's nothing like fighting alongside you, and fighting against you, now that really is something."

At that moment a team arrives to remove the bodies from the office, Buffy, Spike and Angel move farther into the room so they are out of their way. Fred and Wes hang around, however Gunn leaves talking with one of the troopers about the demons. Harmony again realizes that Buffy is there and regains her spitefulness towards the slayer. Straitening her shoulders and flipping her blonde hair Harmony turns toward Buffy intending on giving her a piece of her mind.

"What are you doing here Buffy, don't think that you can walk right in here, beat up some demons and steal my blondie bear back, because let me tell you something…"

"Harm… Just go!"

Buffy and Spike roll their eyes at Harmony's display, and after she is shut down by Spike looks somewhat hurt and upset.

"Oh sure, you can't take the time out of your day to say hello to me, but the second _she_ walks in you're all over her… You know you'd think that after all this time of being alive and not telling her that someone might think that you were trying to get over her…And then you were sending me signals, or have you forgotten that afternoon in what-his-face's office?"

Buffy gives Spike a look as Harmony just glares at him with anger. Angel now standing off to the side of the room feeling rather amused at the situation, a small smile creeps across his face watching the drama before him. Fred and Wesley are still in the room watching the interactions between the three blondes however they don't seem to be taking as much of an interest in what's being said as Angel is.

"Harmony, you. Silly. Bint. There is _no_ you and I, we are _not_ together… that day in the office meant _nothing_, and as for Buffy not knowing that I was alive, well she knows now doesn't she."

"Well fine, if that's the way you want it, I can take a hint… he's all yours, but trust me, he's not worth it."

Harmony turns with a flick of her hair and exits the room, Spike lets out a sigh of relief that she's finally gone and then turns to face Buffy's scrutinizing glare, he looks slightly ashamed as if he had betrayed her somehow.

"You and Harmony… again?"

"Buffy, luv… it was nothing…"

Buffy's face turns into a huge smile as she watches Spike struggle with his words, she realizes how much she had missed the way that he got all flustered when he was trying to explain himself, or the way he always knew what punch she was going to throw when they fought, or how he used to raise his eyebrow turning the most innocent statement into some kind of innuendo. She had missed him, and she hadn't been the only one, her sister had missed the vampire's presence as well.

"Spike… it's ok, I get it, really."

Spike smiles back at her. The only thing that Buffy can't understand is why he hadn't told her that he's back. Even though he had given her an explanation the night before she still didn't completely understand. She could tell that he still cared about her, wouldn't that mean that he would want to be with her, or at least call and see how she was, how Dawn was.

"Yea, I know you do…" Spike says.

"Spike?"

"Yea?"

"I want you to call Dawn… tell her that you're back."

Buffy watches as Spike's facial features change into a look of fear that is quickly covered up by confusion, his head tilts slightly and he stared at her unsure of how to respond to her request.

"Pet, I don't think that's…"

"Don't tell me that you don't think it's such a good idea… she deserves to know that your back."

"I know…I just don't think that she really wants to hear from me is all."

"What? Spike, she's missed you of course she wants to hear from you and know that you're alive."

"Luv, her and I didn't exactly part on the best terms; she did threaten to set me on fire as I slept if I remember correctly."

Spike knows that he should call Dawn and tell her the truth, but he's afraid that she was still be mad at him. He had let her down and he had hurt her, he promised her once that he'd never hurt her, or leave her and he had managed to do both to her and her sister in one night, and then he had come back and did it all over again. In all honesty Spike is scared to call her.

"Wouldn't she know anyway by now, you know because of Andrew?" Fred questions.

Buffy and Spike's heads turn towards Fred who was still standing near Wes. Buffy and Spike had forgotten about their audience for a moment and then realize again that they aren't alone in the room.

"Uh, no… Andrew has orders not to tell… I don't want the council finding out that Spike's back just yet, and it's not something for Andrew to tell, it's for me to tell," Buffy explains.

"Good then, because she doesn't need to know," Spike says.

"Spike, Dawn loves you… she was mad at you yes, you left and went to Africa for months."

"I think that she's slightly more upset with me for the reason why I left for Africa."

"Spike… what happened between you and I… Dawn was angry, she felt betrayed, but not because it happened, because you didn't explain to her… you just left, you didn't say anything, and then she had Xander filling her head with things and… just trust me when I say that she's forgiven you and that it's been hurting her knowing that she never got the chance to tell you that."

Buffy watches as Spike's resolve fades. He melts before her and he lets out an unneeded breath, he isn't willing to call her yet, but Buffy knows exactly what to say to push him to the point where he is.

"Please, William."

"…bleeding Summers women always know what to say, bloody whipped I am…Alright, I'll talk to her, but you owe me Slayer."

Buffy smiles gleefully, pulls out her cell phone and begins to dial, Wes and Fred at this time realize that they have things that they need to get done and start gathering their things to leave.

"Well I must be off now that this problem with the crystal has been taken care of," Wesley says.

"Yes, we'll leave you all alone to talk now," Fred says following Wes out giving Spike a friendly smile as she does.

Angel watches as his friends leave and then re-focuses his attention on the vampire and slayer before him, it's starting to occur to Angel that Spike really had been a big part of Buffy's life, he had never really let himself believe that he had been there for her. Now, however, watching the way his ex and his chilid interacted with each other and it was obvious that they had had something. Spike looks nervous as Buffy dials the number into her cell phone, he hid his nervousness well but it still showed through his façade. Both vampires can hear the ringing of the phone with their advanced vampire hearing. Then they both hear as the phone is answered.

"Hello?" A voice answers on the other line.

"Dawnie," Buffy says.

"Hey Buffy, how's everything in LA?"

To Spike she sounds the same, though he can hear a more grown up tone in her voice. Spike thinks to himself that it's wonderful to hear her voice again, even if he wasn't talking to her. He knows then that even though he's scared he needs to talk with Dawn, she had been a true friend and he couldn't leave their relationship hang as it had been.

"Things are good here… actually I have some news," Buffy says causing Spike's nervousness to sky rocket.

"Is everything ok? Did something happen?"

"No, no everything's fine… there's just something that you should know."

"Buffy just tell me what's going on."

Buffy and Spike simultaneously take a deep breath, one that doesn't go unnoticed by Angel. This is it, Dawn would know, and once she found out what would she say, what would she think of him? Thoughts flood Spike's mind making it hard for him to think of anything but the life that he once had in Sunnydale, back when he and Dawn had been close, when he had looked after her, and she looked up at him.

"A short while ago someone sent Angel an amulet in the mail, it was the same amulet that…"

"Spike… it was the same amulet that Spike was wearing wasn't it? Buffy what happened?"

"Dawn, Spike's back… he's alive."


	7. Tour

**Tour**

-Angel's Office-

Buffy sits across from Angel at his desk. Spike had left the main office and gone into the conference room to talk with Dawn, he had been in there for almost an hour now and Buffy had been pacing around the room until recently, she had barely said two worlds to Angel since Spike had left the room, but now as her patients grows thinner the silence is starting to get to her.

"Why are you doing this Angel?"

Angel looks up from his papers to talk to her a little startled from her outburst.

"Doing what?"

"_This_, Wolfram and Hart… Angel what are you doing here?"

"I had the opportunity to do something really good here and I took it."

"I don't believe you… The Angel I know would be the guy fighting against places like this… This whole corporate suit deal just isn't like you."

Before Angel could respond to what Buffy had said Spike walks out of the conference room. He had just hung up the cell phone and hands it back to Buffy as he walks over to sit next to her. He's silent but his face speaks volumes. Buffy studies him for a moment before asking about the phone call.

"So, how'd it go?"

"It was good… nice talking to the nibblet, it's been a while since her and I have had a long conversation of any kind."

"What'd you guys talk about?"

"Everything… we talked a lot about that summer when you were gone, and about what everyone's been doing since the Hellmouth closed… she brought up Red's spell, said she found a Polaroid of when we were gonna tie the knot."

While Angel had been immersed in the stack of papers that sit on his desk before him he had also been listening to Spike and Buffy's conversation. It had surprised him that Spike had taken care of Dawn when Buffy had been dead, at the time Angel hadn't thought too much about what would happen to Dawn, but apparently Spike had, and had looked after her. What had surprised him the most though was the knowledge that Buffy and Spike had almost gotten married, had they really been that close?

"Wait, you two almost got married?" Angel questions with a look of disbelief across his face.

"Uh, yea, but it was because of a spell," Buffy explains.

"Kinda funny really, remember the look on ol' Rupe's face when you told 'em you wanted him to walk you down the isle?" Spike adds in.

"Yea, If he wasn't blind at the time I bet he would have given me the evil eye."

"God that was what, three years ago?"

"Four."

"Times have really changed haven't they Slayer?"

"Oh, I don't know… I think Giles would still kill you if he had the chance."

They exchange a small smile, which Angel again notices. There is a twinge of jealously that hits the older vampire as he looks over all the small things that Spike and Buffy share together. But Still as much as it hurts to think of the two of them together there is a part of Angel that realizes that he himself has moved on as well.

"So pet, what are you doing for the rest of the day, Watcher have you on any specific mission while you're here?"

"Not really, I'm just supposed to hang around here and see what this place is like."

"Well why don't we go on a tour then, there's a lot more to this place then watching Angel brood and sort through papers in his office."

"Alright… You don't mind if I look around do you Angel?"

-Training Room-

Spike opens the door to the large training room and walks in followed by Buffy, they are the only two there, which Spike is glad to see, he's been wanting to spend some time alone with her since she first showed up in L.A. He watches her as her eyes skim over the weapons on the walls and looks around the room.

"…and this is Angel's fully stocked training room," Spike says as they enter the room.

"Boy this place really does have everything…even green demons with Red horns."

"Trust me Slayer Lorne is one of the good guys, he takes a while to get used to but he's harmless as a kitten."

"He's just very… bright."

Spike chuckles slightly and Buffy smiles at him, they had run into Lorne in the hall on their way to the training room, and while a green demon with red horns was enough to startle anyone, even a slayer; add in a brightly colored suit and sparkling personality and Buffy was overtly surprised. This place had obviously been a shock for Buffy to walk into, there were demons everywhere, and mostly they weren't killing people, which in itself must have been shocking enough, but add in the fact that Buffy's slayer senses must be going crazy and its understanding that she's like a kid in the candy store.

"So, we gonna give this training room a work out or not?"

"Sounds like a plan, though it would take time away from our tour, your watcher might be awfully cross with you if you don't look over this whole place good an' proper."

"I will… I'm just gonna start with the training room, I think that each and every one of these weapons needs to be tested before I move on to looking at stuffy office space."

A smirk crosses Spikes face as he stealthy moved towards her.

-Fred's Lab-

Angel walks into the lab to find Fred already there with Wes doing some kind of test on the Crystal they had protected earlier. Wes has his head in a book and Fred is reading over some papers. It reminds Angel of the days back at the hotel, the only thing that was missing was Cordelia sitting on the computer making some off topic comment about how she'd rather be shopping.

"Well… can it do what we think it can?" Angel asks.

"I've looked over all my tests and I'm not one hundred percent sure, but…" Fred begins to say.

"It could work," Wes finishes.

"Good, so what do we do now, what's next?"

"Nothing," A voice calls from out of sight.

All heads turn to see Gunn enter the room, he has a file folder in his hands, and steadily walks over to where Angel, Fred, and Wes are standing, he has a very sophisticated look about him with all the lawyer-mojo that Wolfram and Hart had given him. He truly is a brand new man, but he's still Gunn and even with all the new information that has been shoved in his head he's still the same.

"The ritual that you are planning on performing will only work when preformed on a full moon; the next one is in three weeks," Gunn explains.

"Are you sure, I don't remember reading anything about that in my books?" Wes asks.

"Because it's not in the books… D'kaykmsuhve crystals are most powerful when the moon is full, it's not a very well known fact since they're so rare, but it's defiantly something to think about considering the size of this Spell."

"Gunn's right, we should wait, we can't afford for anything with this to go wrong," Angel says slightly lost in thought. It's obvious to everyone around him that there are things on his mind. Right at that very moment Lorne walks into the room.

"Whoa, Angel cakes, what's wrong, I can feel your frustration all the way into the hallway."

"It's nothing Lorne, I'm just a little nervous about this Spell."

"The one with the Crystal and the big uglies from your office this morning, no that's not it… You don't think that maybe this whole thing with, Oh say one particular blonde vampire and one special ex-girlfriend vampire slayer who happens to be in town might have something to do with your off color mood?"

"What, no…it's got nothing to do with them."

"You sure about that, you didn't seem so great being around the two of them this morning when we were in your office," Wes adds in.

"Something happened in Angel's office, you know besides the demon attack?" Gunn asks.

"No, not really, It's just Buffy was there and her and Spike have this _connection_ kinda thing," Fred explains.

"They do _not_ have a connection!" Angel says with boldness causing the room is silent for a moment, then Angel takes a deep breath and leans back against the table. "Ok, so maybe I'm a little… confused about the whole Buffy and Spike situation, I mean, what does she see in him, it's Spike."

"Are you sure that you're not over reacting about this, maybe what they had was just a fling kinda thing," Gunn asks.

"She asked him to go back with her."

"Oh, or maybe not then."

"And did you know that they almost got married."

"They almost got married, really? I never thought Spike to be that kind of guy, but then again he is different around her," Fred chirps in forgetting that she's supposed to be supportive of her friend.

"Well, no it had something to do with a spell, and what do you mean he's different around her, you think he's playing her?"

"What, no… just he's more… open, he's more sensitive," Fred explains.

-Training Room-

With a thump Buffy and Spike fall to the ground. As Spike pins Buffy down straddling her and holding her hands above her head, he smirks looking down at her content with winning, watching as she breathes heavily from their fight.

"Well Slayer, looks like I won this round."

A twinge of defiance can be seen in Buffy's eyes just as she wiggles out of Spike's grasp and turns the tables. Flipping them Buffy now straddles Spike and leans forward to hold his hands above his head, her hair falling down around her face and tickling the sides of his face. After the initial shock is over Spike breaks out into a large Cheshire cat smile as he looks up at her, their faces are mere inches apart and Spike's eyes drift back and forth between Buffy's eyes and her lips.

"Come on now Spike I wasn't going to let you win that easily, besides I've always liked it better on top."

If it was possible Spike's smile widens after hearing Buffy's last comment, and Buffy smiles back at him. It's then that their close proximity becomes apparent to Buffy and her eyes lock with Spikes. Smiles fade slightly as they both start taking deeper breaths. Their faces near slowly, and after one final glance into Spike's eyes Buffy kissed him. Spike kisses back and quickly their passion deepens, Spike brings his arms down to rest on her hips as Buffy lets go of her grasp around his wrists and brings her hands down to reach around his neck. There are thoughts are incapable of entering either of their minds. It had been so long since they had been together even in the simplest of ways such as a kiss that all think of is how they feel in that very moment in time. Buffy pulls away to breath and Spike looks up into her eyes and realizes just how much he really does love her, he also realizes how hard it is going to be to see her leave.

"Pet, we should stop."

"What… why, I thought…"

"Luv, it's not that I didn't want to kiss you, I just… we can't do this, you're leaving tonight and I already can't bear to watch you go."

"So come with me."

"Buffy, Luv, you know I can't, least not just yet."

Buffy now slightly upset that Spike is still turning down her invitation to go back with her even though it's blatantly clear that he still really does care about her, stands up from her position above Spike and starts to walk towards the door.

"Right, because you have to stay here, in _LA_ to help _Angel_ with his evil law firm," Buffy says and leaves the room, the bang from the door slamming filles the air as Spike breathes out in frustration and lets his head fall back onto the blue mat where he's laying, after a few seconds he gets up and proceeds to follow her exiting the room.


	8. Date

**Date**

As Spike exited the training room he finds her waiting for him in the empty hallway. He knows he's in hot water with her, but isn't sure exactly what he's going to say to her. Spike just knows that he doesn't want her to me mad at him. She stands with her arms crossed and an upset expression across her face that immediately softens Spike's mood. She reminds him of a little kid, pouting because she didn't get what she wanted.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why wont you come back with me, I mean I get that you want to find out why your back, but are you not coming back with me because you don't love me anymore, or are you gonna pull one of those 'I'm leaving for your own good' kinda things on me," Buffy says with righteousness rooted deep in her voice. Spike can tell that she wants answers and that they'd better be good ones.

"Pet, it's got nothing to do with you," Spike says as he nears Buffy trying to comfort her, she lets her arms fall out of their crossed position as he talks, and they both start to have a little more insight into what each other is thinking. "Buffy, I love you, I don't think there's ever been or will be anyone who affects me the way that you do, and I want to go back with you, believe me, I do, I want to be there living with you and the bit, it's more then I could have ever hoped for, and that will happen soon, but first… first I need to understand why I'm here, and not just why I'm alive, there has to be a reason why I'm here in LA. I'm going to figure things out and the second I do I'm gonna be on my way out to find you."

Buffy lets a small tear roll down her face and after a second Spike walks forward and embraces her in a hug, she holds on to him tightly and after she calms down they pull apart.

"How bout we do this, seeing as you'll be heading home tonight why don't you and I go do something, we can grab some food and head out to the beach, what'll say?"

"What, like right now, but the sun wont be down for another couple of hours."

"Don't fret bout that, we'll knick one of Angel's shiny cars with the special glass."

"Okay."

-Garage-

Spike leads Buffy down to the garage; she stops dead in her tracks when she the large line of expensive cars comes into view before her. She thinks that it must be the company garage, the people that work here must get paid pretty well, it's possible that the cars before her belong to many people and not just one particular vampire. However, Buffy knows that she's fooling herself, she knows that they are all Angel's, but she doesn't want to believe that he has changed so much that he cares this much about material things. She stands there with her mouth agape for a moment until she manages to actually form words.

"Are these all…"

"Angel's…yup, which means that we have our pick of any one of these baby's."

"Are you sure we shouldn't ask Angel first I don't want to…"

"Look pet, if you wanna go and ask Peaches, be my guest, but I personally don't want to deal with my brooding grandsire right now, now come on."

Buffy decides not to ask Angel, not that she didn't think that he'd let them borrow one of his _many_ cars, but she didn't feel like explaining that the reason why they wanted to borrow one was so that they could go out. It's then that Buffy realizes just what she's doing; she's going out on a date with Spike. It seems odd, they had never really done anything like that before, they had never really done anything very couple-y in the past. And then Buffy catches herself mid-thought, they aren't a couple, she will be leaving soon, as in tonight soon, and she has no idea of when the next time that she will be able to see Spike will be.

"Well, Luv, which will it be?"

Buffy snaps out of her thoughts when she hears Spike's voice and realizes that he's waiting for her to pick one of the cars. She looks around the room, not being a big car person Buffy is basically making her choice of which looked the coolest basing her judgment on shiny-ness and color. She looks at each car and then finally her sight settles on a small black two seat convertible. Spike sees where her line of vision falls and smirks as he sees the small black car just big enough for the two of them.

"That one."

"Alright then."

-On the Road-

It's still light out when Buffy and Spike pull out of the garage so the top to the convertible has been left up to protect Spike from the sun. They sit mostly in silence; however it's a comfortable silence. Buffy stares out the window; it had been a long while since she had been to L.A. and as she looks at the buildings around her and thinks back to her childhood. When she had lived there, when her mom had still been alive, and her parents were still together, and she wasn't the slayer, so many memories flood through Buffy's mind of happier and simpler times.

"So Pet, what do you feel like eating?"

"huh… Oh, um, I don't know, whatever sounds good to you," Buffy says as Spike's voice draws her out from her daydream.

Spike glances at Buffy; she seems slightly distant, as if she had something on her mind and Spike finds that he can't help but pry.

"Buffy, Luv, is there something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about when I was little, mom was still alive, and her and dad were still together, and the three of us and Dawn all lived here… you know what I do know where I want to eat, there's this ice-cream place a few blocks away where we all used to go and eat, think we could go there?"

"Sure thing pet, just point the way."

-Ice cream Parlor-

Luckily the front of the Ice Cream parlor is covered by the shade and Spike has no problem finding a spot to park and get in without any issues turning into a crispy critter. Buffy and Spike walk through the front doors of the ice cream place and look around. Buffy notices that it's pretty much the same as it had been when she was little, there had only been a few changes made, such as soft-serve ice cream on the menu and some newer tables and chairs. There are families and small children throughout the shop which Buffy and Spike pass as they look for a table; soon they find a booth and sit down across from each other.

"Well Buffy, what'll it be?"

"I'm thinking a banana split… with extra strawberries, oh, and make sure to get at least two cherries, Dawn and I always used to fight over who got the cherry so mom always made sure to get two."

"Alright then slayer, I'll be right back," Spike says as a large grin spreads across his face just before he leaves the table. Buffy watches as he makes his way up to the counter, realization that he's alive, that he's here with her, hits Buffy again, and then the heartache of knowing that she will be leaving that very night, her smile fades slightly, but she knows that he will come back to her someday.

-2 hours later-

Buffy and Spike still sit at their booth in the small shop, their ice cream has long since gone. They have been sitting there and talking for sometime now. Buffy tells Spike more about what things are like back home, and what she's been up to over the past few months. They reminisce about the past; about what things were like when there was still a place called Sunnydale, and they fought their weekly demons and returned to their normal lives.

"…And you were _so _cheating, I mean, I was drunk and it was obvious to me."

"Well yea, but you didn't have to scare off my winnings."

"whoa, I so didn't _scare_ them… I set them free."

Spike simply gives her a look that makes Buffy blush slightly, so maybe it was a little silly to set the kittens _free_, it's not like they really could have made it that far; but still in her drunken state of mind it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Well, it was better then letting you eat them," Buffy says.

Spike chuckles slightly and glances down at the empty plastic ice cream container before him, he realizes just how much he's missed being around her. They had really had some good times. Spike glances back up to meet Buffy's sparkling green eyes, she has a slight smile on her face, and the two of them just stare at each other for a moment.

"Hey remember that time when we were out on your motorcycle and you nearly crashed us."

"I nearly crashed us! I seem to remember that going slightly differently."

"What! You're saying that it's my fault that you nearly crashed us into a tree!"

"No, I'm saying that you're the reason why I stopped paying attention to where I was going."

"What! That is so not true!"

"Do you even remember what you were doing at the time?" Spike leers at Buffy.

"…no."

"Well, you had…" Spike says as his eyes flutter and he shines a cocky grin at her, "well let's just say that it was distracting."

Buffy's eyes grow wide at the realization of what Spike's saying, she still can't remember just what she had done but she figures since Spike won't straight out tell her she probably shouldn't ask, at very least not in a family establishment such as this one. Spike laughs at the shocked face that she was making and soon Buffy is grinning at the situation as well. Spike glances out the window and notices that it's close to sunset.

"Well, pet it's getting late, what d'ya say we get out of here?"

"Sure."

-The Beach-

After they left the ice cream parlor Spike drives Buffy to the ocean and parks the car on a cliff that overlooks the crashing waves of the ocean. The timing is perfect as they get there just as the sun starts to lower into the water. The ocean water glimmers in shades of orange and red. Soon the sun soon is low enough for Spike to put the top of the convertible down and they sit there staring out at the sunset as if they had never seen one before. Buffy scoots closer to Spike and he wraps his arm around her, she lays her head against his chest and they rest there holding on to this moment for as long as possible.

"It's so beautiful. You know I can't remember the last time that I just sat and watched the sun set," Buffy says as she snuggles up to Spike.

"Come to think of it neither can I, but if I could I know it wouldn't be as good as watching it here with you."

Buffy smiles up at Spike then resumes watching the sun sink lower into the horizon. She wishes that they could just stay like this forever, and he's wishing the same exact thing. Then in the last few seconds before the sun has melted completely into the ocean Buffy and Spike turn to look at each other, their eyes meet, slowly Spike nears, he knows that he loves her, and he knows that she's leaving, but he needs to have this moment be perfect even if it would hurt more later. Buffy closes her eyes and their lips meet. Slow at first and then more passionate as her arms come up around his neck. Spike's hands find their way to her back and the kiss deepens. The sun had set completely before they pull away.

"God, Buffy, I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Spike smiles at her words and then nears for another kiss. All the while his mind keeps asking why it is that he isn't going back with her. Her fingers run through his hair as he kisses her under the stars and Spike knows that there is no other place in the universe that he'd want to be but in her arms. They pull away, panting slightly. Staring at each other in the cool ocean air, hearing the waves splash upon the rocks below, Buffy and Spike both feel like this is the most perfect moment in their lives.

"Buffy… why don't… why don't you and the bit come stay with me for a while, here in L.A. and then when I get everything figured out we'll all head back to England together?"

Buffy thinks about his proposition, she would do anything to be with him at that moment in time, but she has responsibilities and no matter how much she wants to stay there with him she knows that she's needed back home, just as he's needed here in L.A.

"Spike, I… I can't, Dawn has school, and I have to train the new slayers, I can't just walk away from all that, I'm needed there… and I understand now why you can't just get up and leave, and it's ok with me that you have to stay here for a little while; because I know that you'll come and find me when you figure everything out, and I'll wait for you."

Spike, though sad that she's declined his offer to stay with him smiles at what she's said to him. She'll wait for him; Spike now knows that he will do everything in his power to make it back to her. They kiss again under the twinkling stars and let their worries drift away. If only for the moment they pushed all thoughts other then being there with each other from their minds.


	9. Goodbyes

**Goodbyes**

-In the Car-

Buffy and Spike drive down the road with the top of the convertible down. The wind blows threw Buffy's hair and the cool ocean air feels good across her skin. They are on their way to Buffy's hotel room to pick up her things and then they will head back to Wolfram and Hart so that Buffy can say goodbye to Angel before Spike drives her to the airport. Buffy is sad to be leaving, but her day has gone so well that she isn't going to let her departure ruin it just yet. She knows that she is going to miss Spike, but she also knows that she will see him again, hopefully soon, and now that she knows that he's back she can call him and talk with him whenever she wants. Buffy knows that nothing will be the same as having him back living with her but she will just have to be patient and wait for him. Buffy is so lost in thought that she doesn't even realize that they have pulled up outside her hotel.

"Do you want me to come up with you?" Spike asks.

"No, that's fine; I only have one bag… I'll be right back."

Buffy gets out of the car and walks into the hotel leaving Spike alone for a moment. As he waits he visualizes what it would be like to go back with her, to spend each day with her, spending time with Dawn, patrolling at night, and then spending each night together; but he knows that he needs to help with things in L.A. until he understood just why he's back, until he knows a little more about himself. Buffy returns with a duffle bag around her shoulder and Spike pops the trunk. She throws her bag in and then gets in the car.

"Well pet, ready to go?"

"Yep."

-Wolfram and Hart-

Angel sits behind his desk sorting through papers as Buffy walks into the room, Spike lingers in the doorway looking in. Angel looks up as she nears, he can tell that she's been out with Spike, but he can also tell that she's there to say goodbye; a phrase that was often left unsaid between their meetings, and Angel knows that it will be a while before he will see her again.

"Leaving?" Angel asks as the blonde slayer walks into his office.

"Yea, my flight takes off in about an hour."

"Do you need…"

"A ride, no, Spike's gonna drive me to the airport, I just wanted to say goodbye."

Buffy walks closer to Angel as he comes around from his desk to hug her. Their hug is simple, something friends would share, but a small pain of the passion that they used to have still lingers.

"It was good seeing you."

"You too, and I promise the next time we see each other it wont be because of back-stabby business with slayers."

"Don't worry about it, that's your job."

Buffy just smiles, Angel's ability to forgive and accept, even if he did occasionally keep grudges, always amazed Buffy.

"Well I got to go, bye Angel," Buffy says softly.

Angel nods and waves then Buffy turns and gives Angel one last glance before following Spike out the door leaving Angel alone in his office dimly lit by a few table lamps.

-Airport-

It's dark in the airport despite the bright florescent lights above them; Buffy and Spike sit side by side in the gate waiting for the plane to start boarding; neither really knew what to say to the other. Buffy looks around she sees an old woman in a yellow dress sitting by herself, and a mother with two children, one was playing with a red fire truck on the floor, and a young couple sitting side by side.

This is it, Buffy's leaving, sure there is always the phone, and short visits, and eventually, if he didn't die first, Spike would come out to live with her, but she knows that it will be a long while before she will get to see him again. It was a cruel thing to finally get him back after realizing her feelings and then being forced to go off in another direction, but she's the slayer and hard decisions are what she's used to. The announcement is made overhead that they are starting to board the plane, Spike stands up and Buffy follows suit grabbing her bag.

"So, this is it then."

"I guess so."

Buffy and Spike both glance at the door where people are starting to get in line to board the plane; however neither makes an attempt to move.

"Spike I…"

"Buffy…"

"Sorry, you go first."

"… Buffy, I don't want you to leave… I know that you have to, but believe me when I say I wish that you could just stay here with me; and even more I wish I could go back with you, I just…"

"I know… I know what it's like to be _here_ and not know why, but you'll figure it out."

Spike stares at her, he loves her and she knows it, but best of all she loves him back, and because of that she understands why he has to do what he's doing. He touches her face and then kisses her forehead. The overhead speakers announce her flight once again and with one final look into Spike's eyes she kisses him goodbye, turns and boards the plane without looking back. Spike watches her get on the plane and simply stares at the gate for a few moments after she's out of sight.

-On the Plane-

Buffy wipes a single tear from her face as she enters the plane, she walks down the isle of the plane looking at other passengers as she goes until she reaches her seat, it's on the isle and Buffy smiles at the old woman next to her as she puts her bag under her seat and fastens her seat belt.

"Dearie, what's wrong, you look a little upset, your not afraid of flying are you; my third husband was afraid to fly let me tell you he…" the old woman says in a sweet voice.

"no, no, I'm fine with flying, I just… I just had to say goodbye to someone I might not see for a while is all," Buffy replies.

"Oh, I see… if you don't mind me asking was this someone a _special_ someone?"

"…yea."

"Trust me young lady I know how you feel. My first husband went off to fight in the war just a few months after we were married… I remember watching him get on that train and having it roll away, and I'll tell you I chased that train for as long as I could, just hoping that maybe it'd stop and I'd have him back… but it never did."

"That's so sad… did he write to you?"

"Oh yes, every chance he got, I've got a whole box of letters he'd sent me, it was probably the one thing that kept me going waiting for the war to be over, and then when it was over I waited for months and months for him to come home… but he never did… five months after the war was over I got another letter, however this one wasn't from him, it was from the government saying that he had died."

"Oh, that's horrible, I'm so sorry."

"Oh, don't fret about it dearie, it was a long time ago, I moved on, twice as a matter a' fact; but I never did forget him… it's a terrible thing that he'd left the way he had, especially after reading all his letters and him having made it up to the very end… but that's just the way life goes sometimes I guess."

"yea… I guess it is."

-Airport Terminal-

Spike watches out the window looking at her plane, it hadn't moved on to the run way and Spike keeps thinking that maybe she will decide to get off the plane and stay with him; as long as it sits there like it is she could get off. Spike stares at the lights of the plane contrasting in the dark of the night then Spike realizes then that what he wants most of all won't be happening; he glances at the gate one final time as the airport staff closed the doors and then turns and walks away. He keeps walking and makes it pretty far down the hall before he turns around.

Spike thinks to himself that if she isn't going to get off the plane herself then he is going to get on and go with her, he still has things that he wants to know about why he was alive, but he isn't going to waste another minuet without her. Spike figures that whatever he needs to know he can find out in England with her. So he runs, he runs down the hallway and into the gate area and gets there just in time to see the plane rolling out onto the runway through the window. Spike stops dead in his tracks at the sight before him, the plane is on the runway and near take off. She's good as gone, he's missed his chance. Immediately he runs towards the desk.

"Is there anyway to stop this flight?" Spike asks with urgency in his voice.

"No, this plane is about to take off, I'm sorry sir, you've missed this flight." the attendant says.

"Well, then I want a ticket for the next flight out, when is that?"

"If you would like to make reservations for another flight you'll have to go to the check in counter and look into flight information there."

Spike's upset, and very angry with the woman in front of him; just as he's about to argue why it's wrong form him not to be able to get his ticket right then and there, he stops, the gate that he had seen her vanish out of just minuets earlier opens, slowly and with a creak Buffy walks out with her bag over her shoulder. Immediately her eyes meet Spikes; they stare at each other for a short moment before rushing towards each other to embrace in a heart melting kiss, they cling to each other for dear life as if they would never again see each other. Then they pull away and look at each other with awe.

"Why'd you stay?"

"I just realized that I couldn't loose you again, even if it was only for a short while; Spike anything could happen to you while I'm waiting, and I can't live without you… So I'll stay here with you until you're ready, Dawn will be fine, it'll work out, some how I'll work it out."

"You don't have to do that, I'm going back with you; the next flight out we're going back together… anything that I need to figure out I can do with you."

"Spike, you don't have to…"

"Yes, I do… you can't leave Dawn and all the slayers, they all need you, I can't keep you here while I'm sorting through things; don't worry I'll figure out everything that I need to."

Buffy feels as if her heart was melting as he talks. It amazes her how each of them are willing to give up everything they have for each other. Buffy takes only a second to think about the choices that are being presented and then she kisses him again. How they make it out of the airport falls away and all either of them can think about is the other.

-Spike's Apartment-

The door flies open as Spike walks in pulling Buffy by the hand. Spike turns around to face Buffy and pulls her towards him, within seconds they're inches apart. Buffy stares up at him for a moment, and Spike looks into her eyes, they both know what the other is thinking. After a soft kiss Spike pulls away and shut the door they had come through.


	10. Beginnings

**Beginnings**

-Spike's Apartment-

Buffy wakes up, she's in a bed and soon after waking she realizes that it isn't her own, slowly the events of the night before filter back into her mind. Buffy remembers his cool hands running across her skin. She remembers soft touches and passionate kisses. Then she turns over then and notices that there is no one next to her. Buffy's memories of the intimacy that her and Spike shared the night before drift out of her thought as she grabs the bed sheet and wraps it around her body as she stands. Buffy walks out of the bedroom, the smell of coffee wafts through the air. When she reaches the small kitchen she sees Spike, sadly now dressed, pouring two cups of coffee, she also notices that he's on the phone.

"morning luv," Spike says turning to face her.

"Who are you on the phone with?"

"Currently the wankers have me on hold, but I'm trying to get a hold of Angel."

Buffy reaches for her coffee and takes a sip only to pull the glass away from her nearly spitting out what she had drank and setting it on the table.

"Hot… I think I'm gonna go and get dressed, maybe this'll cool down by the time I get back."

Spike just smirks at her as she walks off back into the bedroom, images of her small naked form float through his mind as she watches her body move beneath his sheet. Buffy gets dressed and puts her hair up into a pony tail then starts to walk back into the kitchen, however she stops right in the entrance way and watches Spike, it appears that someone actually picked up on the other line. Spike turns slightly, Buffy can still see the side of his face, however he was still turned far enough away from her that he couldn't see her.

"Angel…no, I'm not calling to bloody… Angel just listen alright… remember when you were tryin' to get rid of me and… yes, I know you're always trying to get rid of me, but… Peaches will you just shut up for one bloody moment, this is important… I'm thinking that I'm gonna take your offer to transfer to another division of Wolfram and Hart… yea; I'm going to see her… No, I'm not just stayin' with Wolfram and Hart just cause you said you'd pay me, though that is part of it… I want to keep doing what I'm doing, helping people, and maybe stay in touch with what's goin' on here in L.A… yea, I have a flight out today…yea…alright, bye."

Spike hangs up the phone and turns to face Buffy as she walks into the room. Buffy notices that he's in a good mood and she's sure that their previous night of passion has something to do with it; he stares at her as she waits to find out what happened, then slowly moves closer to sit next to him.

"What'd he say?" Buffy questions softly although she already has a good idea of what he's going to say.

"Well, he's not too happy, but he's setting me up with the England division, and I got us a flight out tonight, and I used Wolfram and Hart resources to book a vamp safe flight, so in about five hours we'll be on a plane back to England."

"So then I guess all I have left to do is call Andrew and have him inform the troops that your back… we're really doing this aren't we?"

"Yea, we are."

The End


End file.
